Rams baseball team comeback edges Tucson Empire 6-5

Using a trick play and taking advantage of a wild throw, the Maricopa High baseball team mounted a strong comeback Wednesday to beat the Empire Ravens of Tucson 6-5 after trailing by four runs.

The Empire Ravens of Tucson opened the game with back-to-back doubles. After taking advantage of a couple fielding errors, the Ravens mounted a four-run lead before the Rams had their first at bats.

Coach Steven Pappas encouraged his players when they finally made their way to the dugout, reminding them it was a long game.

“I know what they’re capable of,” Pappas said. “I knew they could chip away at the lead.”

And that’s exactly what the Rams did.

In the bottom of the third, Maricopa cut the lead by two. One run scored on an RBI single. Later in the inning, with first baseman Lionel Iglesias on first and shortstop Isaac Solis on third, the Rams successfully executed a trick play to score their second run. While Iglesias forced himself into a pickle trying to steal second, Solis scored easily.

The next half inning, Empire attempted the same trick play, but the Rams tagged the runner from first just before the runner from third could score, ending the inning.

Maricopa’s solid defense continued in the fifth inning, when center fielder Boston Friel stopped a potential threat with a diving catch at the fence.

Rams Starting Pitcher Cody Seymore throws out a first inning pitch. Although he gave up four runs in the first inning, his team came back for the win.

Rams Joseph Zabawa stands is at bat in the third inning. The Rams scored scored two runs in that inning.

The Rams rallied again in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two more runs. Capitalizing on a Ravens error, Iglesias scored the first run on a passed ball, moving Joseph Zabawa to second. After a questionable call at first, leaving the Ravens with two outs, Zabawa was hit in on a single by Kie Zabawa to tie the game.

After a lead-off walk, pitcher Cody Seymore stuck out the next batter. Then the next batter hit a line drive to Iglesias who made a smart throw to catch the runner tagging up at first base. In the bottom half of the inning, the Rams loaded the bases but were unable to score.

In the top of the seventh, the Ravens threatened to take the lead again, with a runner on second and only one out. In an attempt to stop a rally, Coach Pappas replaced pitcher Cody Seymore with Boston Friel. Friel struck out the first batter then gave up a single, allowing the runner on second to score. The Rams were able to end the inning after that, but the Ravens then led 5-4.

Following a lead-off walk from Matt Fieros in the bottom half of the inning, the Ravens coach replaced pitcher Scotty Watson with Josh Elder. The move worked to the Rams advantage. The first batter Elder faced, Kie Zabawa, also walked, putting two runners on with no outs.

Josh Figueroa bunted hoping to move the runners over. Instead, Elder fielded the bunt and made a wild throw to first allowing both Fieros and Zabawa to score, giving the Rams the lead and the win.

After the game, Pappas said he wasn’t worried about Seymore’s pitching after the first inning.

“The first inning wasn’t his fault, we made a few errors in the field, so I told him to just keep throwing strikes and he did.”

Seymore was solid the rest of the game, giving up only two walks and striking out three.

The win is the sixth of the season for the Rams, who play again Friday against Yuma Catholic. The game will be at Matt Huffman field at 4:00 pm.

If You Go
What: Maricopa Rams vs. Yuma Catholic
When: 4 p.m. Friday
Where: Matt Huffman Field, Maricopa High School, 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave.